VIDEO: Groups sue to bring water back to dry section of Kern River

By Lois Henry

●

Rivers

●

August 25, 2025

YouTube video thumbnail

This is the final video in our series exploring how the Kern River is divided up.

Several local groups sued the City of Bakersfield demanding it look at its river operations under the Public Trust Doctrine.

That doctrine requires water in California to be used for the highest beneficial use, which includes the environment and public access, according to the lawsuit.

There’ve been a lot of twists and turns in this lawsuit. Now the trial date has been pushed back to 2027 as the California Supreme Court has agreed to review one portion of the case.

Always something new on the Kern River.

This series:

Rights: Most Kern River rights are held by agricultural water districts and the City of Bakersfield.
Public Trust: Several local groups believe the public has a right to Kern River water and are suing Bakersfield. August 26, 2025

You can see all SJV Water video projects on our YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@thesjvwaterchannel9570

* Made possible by a grant from the Virginia and Alfred Harrell Foundation.

Author

CEO and editor Lois Henry has spent 30 years covering the San Joaquin Valley.

She was raised on a ranch east of Fresno and attended Fresno State where she majored in Journalism.

In Bakersfield she covered a variety of beats including the military, social services, the oil industry, city and county government and did a stint in Sacramento at The Californian’s capitol bureau.

Henry spent 10 years as a manager and was the lead editor for the paper’s many award-winning projects.

In 2007, she began a twice weekly, investigative column and was able to focus on one of her passions – water.

Valley residents innately understand the importance of water. Henry has helped develop that understanding by untangling the complicated knots of rights, lawsuits, contracts and deals by which water is moved and consumed.

She plans to continue that mission through SJV Water.

Henry lives with her husband, one dog and two very spoiled cats in Bakersfield.